Mr. Singer and Mr. Ryan

By

October 17, 2012

The auto bailout bill, proposed by President George W. Bush, passed in December 2008 with only thirty-two Republican votes. Among their number, to the surprise and consternation of the Tea Partiers among his supporters, was Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan.

But Ryan’s vote likely came as no surprise to the hedge funders who benefited from it the most—particularly Paul Singer, with whom Ryan has enjoyed a long and cozy relationship. Singer and his firm, Elliott Management, are the No. 1 funders of Paul Ryan’s Prosperity PAC.

Indeed, it was Singer, reports The Wall Street Journal, who helped push Ryan onto the national ticket as the vice presidential nominee—but only after Ryan turned down Singer’s suggestion that he run for president himself.

Ryan had already shocked his supporters by voting for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, whose funds were used to boost the auto bailout and enrich Singer’s Elliott Management. In addition to pouring $2.8 billion into Delphi, TARP sent $12 billion to Ally Financial, formerly the GM finance unit GMAC. One of the biggest holders of Ally is Paul Singer’s fund.GP

Greg Palast Greg Palast is an economist and financial investigator turned journalist whose series on vulture funds appeared on BBC Television’s Newsnight. He is the author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Penguin) and, most recently, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories).